It began as a seemingly awkward Jack Nicholson introduction of the very long list on nominees, but the Best Picture denouement?at a very long Oscars ceremony on Sunday turned into a surprise appearance by Michelle Obama, via satellite from the Governors' Ball in Washington, D.C.?where earlier she had sat next to Chris Christie?to introduce and announce the winner,?Argo.?
Analyzing beach sand from Mauritius,?scientists discovered minerals between 660 million and 1,970 million years old, suggesting an ancient, lost?continent beneath the Indian Ocean.
By Charles Q. Choi,?LiveScience / February 25, 2013
The remains of a micro-continent scientist call Mauritia might be preserved under huge amounts of ancient lava beneath the Indian Ocean, a new analysis of island sands in the area suggests.
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These findings hint that such?micro-continents?may have occurred more frequently than previously thought, the scientists who conducted the study, detailed online Feb. 24 in the journal Nature Geoscience, say.
Researchers analyzed sands from the isle of Mauritius in the western Indian Ocean. Mauritius is part of a volcanic chain that, strangely, exists far from the edges of its tectonic plate. In contrast, most volcanoes are found at the borders of the tectonic plates that make up the surface of the Earth.
Investigators suggest that volcanic chains in the middle of tectonic plates, such as the Hawaiian Islands, are caused by giant pillars of hot molten rock known as mantle plumes. These rise up from near the Earth's core, penetrating overlying material like a blowtorch. [What Is Earth Made Of?]
Mantle plumes can apparently trigger?continental breakups, softening the tectonic plates from below until they fragment ? this is how the lost continent of Eastern Gondwana ended about 170 million years ago, prior research suggests. A plume currently sits near Mauritius and other islands, and the researchers wanted to see if they could find ancient fragments of continents from just such a breakup there.
Digging in the sand
The beach sands of Mauritius are the eroded remnants of volcanic rocks created by eruptions 9 million years ago. Collecting them"was actually quite pleasant," said researcher Ebbe Hartz, a geologistat the University of Oslo in Norway. He described walking out from a tropical beach, "maybe with a Coke and an icebox, and you dig down underwater into sand dunes at low tide."
Within these sands, investigators discovered about 20?ancient zircon grains?(a type of mineral) between 660 million and 1,970 million years old. To learn more about the source of this ancient zircon, the scientists investigated satellite?maps of Earth's gravity field. The strength of the field depends on Earth's mass, and since the planet's mass is not spread evenly, its gravity field is stronger in some places on the planet's surface and weaker in others.
The researchers discovered Mauritius is part of a contiguous block of abnormally thick crust that extends in an arc northward to the Seychelles islands. The finding suggests Mauritius and the adjacent region overlie an ancient micro-continent they call Mauritia. The ancient zircons they unearthed are shards of lost Mauritia.
The researchers meticulously sought to rule out any chance these ancient grains were contaminants from elsewhere.
"Zircons are heavy minerals, and the uranium and lead elements used to date the ages of these zircons are extraordinarily heavy, so these grains do not easily fly around ? they did not blow into Mauritius from a sandstorm in Africa," Hartz told OurAmazingPlanet.
"We also chose a beach where there was no construction whatsoever ? that these grains did not come from cement somewhere else," Hartz added. "We were also careful that all the equipment we used to collect the minerals was new, that this was the first time it was used, that there was no previous rock sticking to it from elsewhere."
Peeling continent pieces
After analyzing marine fracture zones and ocean magnetic anomalies, the investigators suggest Mauritia separated from Madagascar, fragmented and dispersed as the Indian Ocean basin grew between 61 million and 83.5 million years ago. Since then, volcanic activity has buried Mauritia under lava, and may have done the same to other continental fragments.
"There are all these little slivers of continent that may peel off continents when the?hotspot of a mantle plume?passes under them," Hartz said. "Why that happens is still mind-boggling. Why, after something gets ripped apart, would it rip apart again?"
Finding past evidence of lost continents normally involves tediously crushing and sorting volcanic rocks, Hartz explained. The researchers essentially let nature do the work of pulverization for them by looking at sand.
"We suggest lots of scientists try this technique on their favorite volcanoes," Hartz said.
Follow OurAmazingPlanet for the latest in Earth science and exploration news on Twitter?@OAPlanet. We're also onFacebook?&?Google+.
Copyright 2013?LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Many people find auto insurance either boring or overwhelming, which makes it harder to understand than it needs to be. Honestly, you will feel less confused the more you learn about it. Some of the most popular ways to drive down insurance premiums is to install an anti-theft alarm, GPS tracker or theft immobilizer in your vehicle. Your coverage is also based on whether or not your car is at high risk for theft. Your insurance will be lower if you have a safer vehicle.
You must understand the various coverage types when buying car insurance. There are many things that go into your final cost of insurance. The legal costs associated with things such as serious injury or death in an accident you cause are covered by bodily injury liability policies.
Advice You Need To Know About Auto Insurance The consumer complaint ratio should be available for most of the car insurers in your state. This number reveals the percentage of complaints for a given provider.
Gain Some Great Knowledge About Auto Insurance Make sure to stay informed about basic insurance terms prior to searching for a company to get a policy from. While each state varies in requirements, the basic concepts of insurance are the same. By doing some basic homework, you will be better prepared to buy a policy with appropriate coverage.
Before buying car insurance, request policy rates from several different companies. You will only get the best rate by shopping around.
When purchasing car insurance, it is important to keep in mind that they are only insuring the driver of the car that is on the policy. Many drivers lend their car out to a friend, only to find that the friend's accident is not covered because they were not listed on the driver's policy. If you have people driving your vehicle on a regular basis, you could purchase coverage that covers additional people. However, this comes at a higher price.
A great tip for auto insurance is to get 100/200/100 level coverage for liability if you have a good car with a few assets to protect. Make sure the amount of liability coverage you have is enough to meet state requirements.
Enrolling in a defensive driving course is one of the simplest ways to save on auto insurance. Not only will the course teach you to drive in a way that helps you avoid collisions, and filing costly claims associated with them, but most insurance companies also give you a discount on your premium just for taking the classes. You can inquire about these classes at your local driving school. You can search them out on the world wide web, too.
With other expenses already so high, it is a good idea to drop some of those after-market upgrades that only add to aesthetic value. Upgrades such as leather seats and a killer sound system are awesome, but these are not things you really need. Insurance companies will not pay for the damage or loss of any of these types of items.
Auto Insurance Shopping Made Easy With These Tips As previously mentioned, research everything before buying auto insurance so that you can get what you need. If you have enough information, you should be able to find good auto insurance at a fair price. Apply the advice in this article to ensure that you get the type of auto insurance that you need.
Apple's next iPad, the iPad 5 if you will, is expected to arrive in June, according to supply chain sources.
Steven W of mobile accessory maker MiniSuit sent us a photo of an iPad 5 case, which he says his company is already manufacturing.
He says his company "heavily invests" in tips about future mobile products to get an advance on case making. He also says, "These leaks typically come from factories that we work closely with."
His sources have informed him the new iPad should be out in June. This sounds like a reasonable time frame if cases are already being manufactured. Plus, Apple hasn't physically refreshed the iPad since April of 2011. (Aside from a slight thickening for the third generation iPad.)
The next iPad is expected to mimic the design of the iPad Mini. It will be thinner and lighter. It will also have a smaller overall size, while maintaining the same 9.7-inch screen.
This is important for Apple since the majority of people are buying the less expensive, less profitable iPad Mini, according to analysts.
Lowering the size and weight of the bigger iPad is a good way to increase sales and bump up Apple's profits.
Former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed (centre) left the Indian high commission in Male after taking refuge for 11 days to avoid arrest on charges related to his presidency. (Reuters ...
US forces must leave Afghan region
BBC - Sunday 24th February, 2013
The Afghan president has ordered US special forces to leave Wardak province within two weeks over allegations of disappearances and torture. The measures were being taken due to the actions of ...
Scandals and intrigue heat up at Vatican ahead of papal conclave
Times of India - Sunday 24th February, 2013
The drumbeat of scandal has reached such a fever pitch that the Vatican secretariat of state issued a rare pointed rebuke on February 23, 2013. (AFP ...
Navy ship to try to fetch Filipinos in Malaysia
San Diego Union-Tribune - Sunday 24th February, 2013
MANILA, Philippines -; The Philippines is sending a navy ship to waters off eastern Malaysia to bring back some of about 180 Filipinos who became locked in a standoff with Malaysian authorities ...
Suicide bombers target Afghan security forces
Tampa Bay Online - Sunday 24th February, 2013
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Suicide bombers targeted Afghanistan's intelligence agency and other security forces in four coordinated attacks in the heart of Kabul and outlying areas on Sunday, ...
Italians vote in crucial election for eurozone
Times of India - Sunday 24th February, 2013
ROME: Italians began voting on Sunday in one of the most closely watched elections in years, with markets nervous about whether it can produce a strong government to pull Italy out of recession and ...
45 arrested in Spain after anti-austerity protest
Tampa Bay Online - Sunday 24th February, 2013
MADRID (AP) -- Spanish police say they arrested 45 people, including nine minors, in street violence after a large anti-austerity protest outside parliament. Dozens sustained minor ...
A UN-mediated peace deal aimed at ending two decades of conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been signed by regional leaders.
Mail & Guardian - Sunday 24th February, 2013
Congo's government and the M23 rebels are holding talks in Uganda aimed reaching an agreement on a range of economic, political and security issues. ...
Taiwans former vice president to meet new China leader
Channel News Asia - Sunday 24th February, 2013
TAIPEI: A Taiwan politician known for making a landmark 2005 visit to China flew to Beijing Sunday to meet China's Communist Party chief Xi Jinping in the highest level cross-strait meeting ...
China operationalises key railway line to ASEAN
Times of India - Sunday 24th February, 2013
ASEAN countries to firm up the burgeoning trade links with the regional bloc. A railway that links China's southwestern Yunnan Province with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ...
China takes aim at extravagance in military spending
Inquirer - Sunday 24th February, 2013
Xi Jinping. AFP FILE PHOTO BEIJING--China?s military has introduced new rules to combat ';extravagance and waste'; in spending, state media said Sunday, as the country?s new ...
Three shot dead in Bangladesh protest over bloggers
Times of India - Sunday 24th February, 2013
Bangladesh police fired live rounds on Sunday in clashes with Islamists demanding the execution of bloggers they accuse of blasphemy, killing at least three protesters and injuring dozens. Eighteen ...
Hunger strikes clashes after Palestinian prisoner dies
Times of India - Sunday 24th February, 2013
JERUSALEM: Some 3,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails were staging a one-day hunger strike Sunday in protest at the death of an inmate, an official said, as security forces clashed with ...
4 years after end of civil war photo of dead boy ups pressure on Sri Lanka over war crimes
Canada.com - Sunday 24th February, 2013
In this Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 photo, Zoe Sale, producer of the documentary "No Fire Zone" which shows the last violent days of the Sri Lankan civil war, watches a screening of the film in ...
Arqaam Capital targets Africa and South East Asia for expansion push
The National - Sunday 24th February, 2013
Arqaam Capital may expand in South East Asia and Africa in the coming year as demand for emerging-market assets spurs revenue. "Global institutions of developed markets are currently ...
Explosions wound 10 in southern Thailand
San Diego Union-Tribune - Sunday 24th February, 2013
PATTANI, Thailand -; Police say suspected insurgents detonated two bombs that wounded 10 people and staged a series of minor attacks in nearly 30 spots in Thailand's violence-plagued ...
Goverment working hard to battle drought
Asian News - Sunday 24th February, 2013
The government promises to do the utmost to help drought-hit people by integrating the work of all relevant units and the digging of 2,400 groundwater wells.Minister of Natural Resources and ...
Oscar Pistoriuss older brother Carl also faces homicide trial over 2010 death of woman in car crash
The Independent - Sunday 24th February, 2013
'Oscar will have to live with his conscience if he is lying': Reeva Steenkamp's father Barry speaks out about ...
US official secretly visited N.Korea last year report claims
Channel News Asia - Sunday 24th February, 2013
LOS ANGELES: US officials made two secret visits to North Korea last year in an effort to improve relations after the country's leader Kim Jong Un assumed power, according to the Los Angeles ...
Japan coastguard says more China ships in disputed waters
West Australian - Sunday 24th February, 2013
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan said three Chinese surveillance ships entered its territorial waters off disputed East China Sea islands on Sunday, hours after one of Beijing's fisheries patrol boats ...
Italian polling stations open in key vote for eurozone
Times of India - Sunday 24th February, 2013
Mario Monti , appointed just over a year ago to save Italy from financial crisis. Voting began at 8am and will go on to 10pm (2100 GMT)Polls will re-open on Monday at 7am and remain open until 3pm ...
Maldives denies deal as ex-president back in action
New Zealand Herald - Sunday 24th February, 2013
The Maldivian government denied any deal to allow ex-president Mohamed Nasheed to end his refuge at the Indian embassy in the capital and resume election campaigning without fear of arrest. ...
A Michigan deposit is shown printed on a beverage in Detroit, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. Michigan lawmakers want to crack down on can and bottle smugglers they say are scamming Michigan for undeserved recycling refunds, corrupting a generous 10-cent per container payback policy once infamously portrayed in a "Seinfeld" episode and which beverage officials now claim costs the state millions of dollars annually. Lawmakers say it's a serious problem, especially in border counties, and they want to toughen penalties on people who try to return un-marked, out-of-state cans and bottles for refunds. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
A Michigan deposit is shown printed on a beverage in Detroit, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. Michigan lawmakers want to crack down on can and bottle smugglers they say are scamming Michigan for undeserved recycling refunds, corrupting a generous 10-cent per container payback policy once infamously portrayed in a "Seinfeld" episode and which beverage officials now claim costs the state millions of dollars annually. Lawmakers say it's a serious problem, especially in border counties, and they want to toughen penalties on people who try to return un-marked, out-of-state cans and bottles for refunds. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
A Michigan deposit is shown stamped on a beverage in Detroit, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. Michigan lawmakers want to crack down on can and bottle smugglers they say are scamming Michigan for undeserved recycling refunds, corrupting a generous 10-cent per container payback policy once infamously portrayed in a "Seinfeld" episode and which beverage officials now claim costs the state millions of dollars annually. Lawmakers say it's a serious problem, especially in border counties, and they want to toughen penalties on people who try to return un-marked, out-of-state cans and bottles for refunds. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
LANSING, Mich. (AP) ? Michigan lawmakers want to crack down on can and bottle smugglers they say are scamming Michigan for undeserved recycling refunds, corrupting a generous 10-cent per container payback policy once infamously portrayed in a "Seinfeld" episode and which beverage officials now claim costs the state millions of dollars annually.
"Seinfeld" characters Kramer and Newman failed miserably in their comedic attempt to cash in on the refund, when they loaded a mail truck full of cans and bottles in New York and attempted to drive them to Michigan. But lawmakers say it's a serious problem, especially in border counties, and they want to toughen penalties on people who try to return unmarked, out-of-state cans and bottles for refunds.
"If you are intending to defraud ... then you should be held accountable for it," said Republican Rep. Kenneth Kurtz of Coldwater. He recently introduced legislation aimed at cracking down on scammers who drive car and truck loads of cans from Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio ? states that do not offer refunds ? to stores across the border in Michigan.
His legislation would make an attempt to return between 100 and 10,000 non-returnable containers punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Current law sets penalties only for those who actually return fraudulent containers.
Michigan's 10 cent-per-container refund ? the highest in the country ? was enacted more than 30 years ago to encourage recycling. Many say it's worked. The state's recycling rate for cans and bottles was nearly 96 percent in 2011. By contrast, New York, one of nine states with nickel deposits on most containers, saw only a 66.8 percent redemption rate in 2007, the most recent figure available.
Despite measures Michigan lawmakers have taken over the years, including tougher penalties for bottle scammers and new machines that kick out fraudulent cans, store owners and distributors along the border say illegal returns persist.
Mike Hautala owns Hautala Distributing, which services Gogebic and Ontonagon counties in the western part of the Upper Peninsula near the Wisconsin border. He said for every case of beer his distributorship delivers to a store along the border, it picks up about seven more cases of empty cans.
The state loses $10 million to $13 million a year to fraudulent redemptions, according to most recent 2007 estimates from the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association. Angela Madden, the association's director of governmental affairs, said that number has likely gone down slightly because of changes implemented since, but not by much.
Bill Nichols, store director at Harding's Friendly Market in Niles about three miles from the Indiana border, said the store takes in about $6,000 worth of cans a week. He said every week he kicks out people for trying to return large garbage bags full of cans from Indiana, a state that offers no refund.
"You can go into the parking lot and look at the license plates and see that it says Indiana," he said.
Distributors pick up the containers people drop off at stores and pay the store a dime for every container. If the distributor picks up more bottles and cans than it left ? the likely result of fraudulent redemption ? the distributor is left in the hole, Madden said. If the distributor picks up fewer cans than it dropped off, the money that does not go back to the store is sent to the state. Twenty five percent of that money is sent back to retailers and 75 percent is put in a fund that pays for things like environmental cleanup, she said.
Hautala said he lost about $25,000 last year picking up more returned containers than he delivered. He said his company will recover some of that money from distributors who sell more containers than they pick up.
In 2008, Michigan passed laws aimed at cracking down on bottle fraud. One of the primary components required manufacturers to place a special mark on Michigan cans and bottles and said those containers could only be sold in Michigan or other states that have deposit laws.
A report the Department of Treasury delivered to Michigan lawmakers last fall estimated that the technology may have helped reduce redemptions of out-of-state containers by nearly 4 percent. But that reduction could also come from decline in sales, the report said.
As containers were given Michigan-specific marks, vending machines used in stores to count the cans and bottles were formatted with new technology to read the mark and reject cans that come in from across the border.
But Madden told the committee that many retailers have not yet taken advantage of the technology. She said while the state has provided funding for business to pay for the $5,000 machine upgrade, many "just refuse." If a store has an older model machine, they might have to shell out big bucks for a brand new machine that is compatible with the new technology, she said.
Hautala said only four machines are in the two counties his company serves.
And the machines are not "100 percent fool-proof," Nichols said. If a person repeatedly puts an out-of-state can into the machine, it will often accept it, he said.
Michigan is not alone in its fight against bottle fraud. Mark Oldfield, spokesman for California's Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, said the state, which gives a 5-cent refund for most containers and 10 cents for those more than 24 ounces, is losing about $30 million to $50 million a year from redeeming out-of-state cans. The state's redemption rate for the first six months of 2012 was 87 percent.
Oldfield said a new law in California this year requires people who bring in more than 25 pounds of aluminum or plastic, or more than 100 pounds of glass, to report the source and the destination of the material to the state. Border patrol stations along the major highways near the border also gather license plate numbers and information of vehicles seen bringing in cans and bottles.
Despite their best efforts to clamp down on fraudulent bottles, a federal lawsuit may shake things up even more. In 2012, a federal appeals court in Cincinnati struck down the Michigan law that makes beverage companies put a special mark on cans sold in the state. It said the Michigan law is illegally affecting interstate commerce by dictating where cans can be distributed.
Joy Yearout, spokeswoman for Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, said the office has requested a stay on the ruling and plans to file a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court in April.
After years of long, sometimes tense negotiations, federal regulators today approved new rules for devices, known as boosters, that improve cellphone signals.
The rub is that the devices operate in the same band of spectrum licensed to the carriers whose signal they are trying to boost. While carriers don?t oppose the notion of their customers getting improved signals, they have been concerned about potential interference caused by the devices.
After years of talks, the carriers, consumer groups and device makers have agreed on a set of rules and technical specifications that will govern such products.
?The order is a product of years of work involving all the stakeholders ? [carriers], consumer groups and the booster industry,? said John Leibovitz, deputy bureau chief of the FCC?s wireless bureau. ?We?re happy different groups could come together. We think the time has come to create more certainty.?
Wilson Electronics, a leading manufacturer of boosters, was also glad to see a resolution. ?Wilson Electronics applauds the adoption of FCC certification specifications for consumer cellphone signal boosters, which will eliminate poorly designed products that currently plague the market and have been a source of cell site interference,? said COO Joe Banos in a statement.
Under the new rules, signal boosters will have to meet an agreed-upon set of technical specifications. While not granted their own license to operate in the airwaves licensed to the carriers, all the major carriers and many smaller ones have agreed to allow the approved boosters to share their license.
There are separate rules for so-called industrial boosters, the kind used to improve signal in a large office building, stadium or subway.
Two days is a long time in tech. One day, a company's announcing a new iteration of its hybrid Android camera, next thing you know, it's already passing the FCC's tests. You probably know the drill by now and with even less radios than the original Galaxy Camera, there's less paperwork to browse this round. But if exposure reports are your sort of thing, then you should probably visit the source -- there's reading to be done. Two things not mentioned, however, is that darn release date and price tag.
Feb. 18, 2013 ? A genetically mosaic Eucalyptus tree is able to control which leaves are saved from predation because of alterations in its genes, finds an study published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Plant Biology. Between two leaves of the same tree there can be many genetic differences -- this study found ten SNP, including ones in genes that regulate terpene production, which influence whether or not a leaf is edible.
Organisms collect somatic genetic mutations throughout their lives. These mutations may have no effect or they may occur in genes important to how the cell behaves. Cancer cells often have genetic mutations which permit the cell to divide more times than an unmutated cell, and in plants it is somatic mutation which allows a single tree to produce both nectarines and peaches.
Researchers from the Australian National University found that in the long-lived Eucalyptus tree (Eucalyptus melliodora ) somatic mutation is also responsible for their interesting ability to produce some branches with leaves that are readily predated, while others are pest resistant.
At a genetic level there were ten genes which contained differences between these leaves. Amanda Padovan, who led this project, explained, "The main defence against predation of Eucalyptus is a cocktail of terpene oils, including monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and FPCs, which give the tree its distinctive smell. Leaves which were resistant to predation had five fewer monoterpenes and nine fewer sesquiterpenes than the tastier leaves. However the concentration of FPCs and the remaining monoterpenes was far higher -- so it seems that these mutations reduce the tight control over terpene production."
While this loss of control probably has a high evolutionary cost, it allows the tree to survive the insect-plant war. The tree investigated had one branch which was untouched by insects when the rest of the tree was completely defoliated.
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Journal Reference:
Amanda Padovan, Andras Keszei, William J Foley and Carsten K?lheim. Differences in gene expression within a striking phenotypic mosaic Eucalyptus tree that varies in susceptibility to herbivory. BMC Plant Biology, (in press) [link]
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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Indiscriminately killing wolves to control wolf predation on livestock is completely useless.??
There, I said it.? The truth has finally been revealed!? Now let's put an immediate end to wolf culls, wolf kill contests, and the idiocy that accompanies so much of what's currently going on with wolf 'management' in British Columbia, Alberta, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming and get back to letting nature take care of things herself.? Deal?
Ahhh, if only it were that easy.? The saddest part of the words above is that that second sentence is 100% accurate and has been proven to be true time and time again by scientists and wolf biologists.?
But rather than use science, our provincial and state governments have decided to let politics rule the day and we're left dealing with the mess we currently see in northern British Columbia ("there are wolves everywhere" so let's see who can shoot the biggest one and the smallest one and we'll hand out a bunch of prizes like pack of rabid baboons -- my apologies to baboons for using this reference), in southwestern Alberta (where you can shoot a wolf at any time for any reason if you happen to know someone that owns a cow -- more about this later on), and throughout Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming (in what has to be the most brazen, publicized, vehement attack on wolves this continent has seen in the past fifty years).
Brad Hill, the professional wildlife photographer from British Columbia that I mentioned in my Wolf Snares in the Backyard post on Day 1 of Wolf Week, and Carl Marshall, an amateur wildlife photographer from Kentucky, alerted me to two great articles/documents in the past 24 hours that really shed light on the perceived problem (that wolves kill cattle by the thousands) and on the real problem (that many ranchers harbour an inordinate amount of hatred for wolves and use their oversized political power to pressure governments into maintaining/enacting legislation that's barbaric and outdated) when dealing with the issue of wolf predation on livestock.
The first, an article in The Wildlife News called "What real public information about wolves looks like," contains a copy of a talk that Norman Bishop, a (retired) National Park Ranger for 36 years in Yellowstone National Park, gave in Bozeman, Montana on February 11th.? In it, Bishop immediately put the science behind three key loggerhead issues with wolves on the table, including livestock predation (and while he cites scientific facts from Montana, I think most of you can easily see how it relates to the rest of the provinces and states involved in wolf management in the northwest).
Bishop had this to say about livestock predation (his talk included fully-referenced footnotes that he provided publicly to back up his numbers):
"About 2.6 million cattle, including calves, live in Montana... Western Montana, where most wolves live, has fewer cattle than the east side of the state. As of 2009, there were 494,100 cattle there. Seventy-four of these animals were killed by wolves, or less than 0.015 percent of the western Montana cattle population."
He followed soon after with wolf kill statistics, noting that "64 wolves were killed in response, [with another] 166...taken in the 2011 hunt."? Then he noted that there is a fully functioning wolf compensation program in place to reimburse ranchers for livestock lost to wolves.
His conclusion from science-based numbers in Montana is that while the loss of a "teenager?s 4H calf or a small operator?s animals [may be] devastating," the livestock industry is not at risk from wolf predation.
The second document I took note of yesterday was one written by Wendy Keefover for WildEarth Guardians (thank you to Wendy and Lori Colt for allowing me to post this document in its entirety) entitled Northern Rocky Mountain Wolves: A Public Policy Process Failure -- How Two Special Interest Groups Hijacked Wolf Conservation in America (also fully-referenced).
This document starts off immediately providing answers to frequently asked questions about Northern Rockies wolves, such as, do wolves kill vast numbers of livestock?? The answer is shocking only in that it clearly reveals just how insignificant the threat of wolf predation is to the livestock industry:
"No. This constant complaint by the livestock industry is without merit. Wolves have killed less than one percent of the cattle or sheep inventories in the Northern Rockies. Even in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming where most wolves live (and before the commencement of wolf hunting in 2011-2012) and even using unverified livestock loss data (that is, numbers that are based upon livestock growers? uninvestigated complaints), wolves killed less than one percent of the cattle (0.07 percent) and sheep (0.22 percent) inventories in those states. Verified livestock losses are even lower. These livestock loss numbers mirror the national average where all other carnivores (i.e., coyotes, cougars, bears and domestic dogs) killed less than 0.5 percent of the (2010) cattle and (2009) sheep inventory in the entire United States. The biggest source of mortality to livestock actually comes from disease, illness, birthing problems and weather, but not from native carnivores such as wolves."
So the state response to numbers like these (0.07 percent means that 7 in every 10,000 cattle was reported to be killed by wolves and the verified numbers were even lower) was a bit shocking:? if you can stomach this, a whopping 62,000 tags were sold for wolf hunting and trapping in Idaho and Montana alone for the 2011-12 season.? By contrast, there were only estimated to be 1271 wolves in those states at the end of 2010!
A large part of this hatred is bred from the livestock industry.? Returning to Canada for a moment, we are still dealing with the aftermath of this ridiculous Wolf Kill Contest in the Fort St. John area in northern British Columbia.? Almost everyone on the side of the hunters up there said the exact same four things (which I'm sure are the exact same nonsensical things that wolf haters in Montana and Alberta and so on are saying):
1. we need to kill the wolves because there are way too many of them - wolves are self-regulating animals at the top of the food chain. They regulate their own populations based on the available food supply.
2. we need to kill the wolves because our ranchers are losing hundreds/thousands of cattle to them - a Vancouver Sun article (now offline) exposed how ridiculous some of the cattle industry's claims are/were (Kevin Boon of the B.C. Cattlemen's Association claimed the losses to wolf predation totaled $15 million dollars a year!). Another Sun article has ranchers in B.C. claiming they lose 10% of their cattle to predation, yet the wolf compensation program for the province could only verify a total of 133 wolf-predation losses out of hundreds of thousands of cattle.
3. we need to kill the wolves because they're killing all our big game (moose, deer, etc) ?- stay tuned tomorrow and I'll debunk that myth, too.
4. this is none of your business, you live in a city and have no idea how it is in the north (aka, rural living) - I live in a town on the edge of the wilderness in the midst of wolves.? But even if I did live in a city, how exactly does that give me less say when it comes to our shared natural resources?
Meanwhile, here in Alberta, ranchers get to run and gun under the radar thanks to some archaic wolf management policies from our 22 year-old Wolf Management Plan.? Did you know that if you have livestock on public land in Alberta that you can shoot wolves on sight at any time of year, young or old.? Worse yet, you can bring on hired guns to shoot wolves at any time of year, young or old...ON PUBLIC LANDS.? What is wrong with this picture?!!?
So what can we do about all of this?? How do we enact change in B.C., Alberta, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming when the facts clearly show that livestock predation is not an issue and that it is not a valid reason for the widespread wolf persecution that we're currently seeing?
First and foremost, we need to continue to band together via social media networks and online, growing our collective voice in order to increase our ability to put pressure on the political parties at the helm.? In British Columbia in particular, the wolf issue, and the issue of wildlife management in general, may play a huge role in who gets voted in come this spring's provincial election. The NDP party is the only one that has thus far indicated an interest in reviewing the province's Wolf Management Plan and they are also the only ones who've indicated a serious interest in revamping wildlife management as a whole.
Second, we need to support groups (both financially and emotionally) that are fighting on behalf of wild wolves in the northwest, like Pacific Wild in British Columbia and WildEarth Guardians or WolfWatcher in the States (and please let me know if there are other groups you would like to see mentioned here).
And finally, we need to begin educating our youth to the realities (and joys) of having wild wolves on the landscape (I'll have more about this tomorrow).? They are not the natural-born killers Hollywood portrays them to be, rather, they are complex, social animals that deserve our admiration and respect.
Thank you everyone for your efforts and support, please feel free to leave your Comments below as I would love to hear your feedback.
Sincerely,
John
Labels: wildlife conservation, wolf conservation, wolf photography, wolf week
DORAL, Fla. (AP) ? In many parts of Miami, Spanish is used as frequently ? or more often ? than English.
That's certainly case in the neighboring suburb of Doral, where an influx of immigrants from Latin America have transformed an idle community near the city's airport into flourishing neighborhood with cafeterias and businesses echoing the tastes and sounds of home.
Enter any restaurant here and customers are usually greeted first in Spanish. Some complain it can be hard to find anyone who speaks perfect English.
But when Doral's mayor tried to make Spanish the official second language on Wednesday, he was rebuffed by every council member and numerous constituents. And it wasn't from the small group of non-Hispanic residents who live here. It was largely from immigrants themselves.
"Our parents and some of us that are up here came from Latin America and other countries knowing that the United States has English as the language," Councilwoman Ana Maria Rodriguez said. "We came here knowing we had to adapt to the language of this country."
Nationwide, the Latino population has ballooned and the number of Spanish-language services has grown as a result. An estimated 34.5 million people in the United States speak Spanish at home ? about 10 percent of the population ? and everyone from small businesses and retail chains to politicians have taken note. When Florida Sen. Marco Rubio delivered the Republican response to the president's State of the Union address on Tuesday, he gave speeches in both languages.
But few cities have responded by declaring themselves officially bilingual. Far more states, and politicians, have adopted English-only policies. That has been reaffirmed in the recent immigration reform debate, with both Democrats and Republicans supporting English as a requirement for citizenship.
"Real reform means establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship, a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty, learning English, and going to the back of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally," President Barack Obama said Tuesday.
The United States has never declared English as its official language, though more than two dozen states have taken that step. Only one state ? Hawaii ? has adopted a second official language, naturally Hawaiian. Along the U.S.-Mexico border, there is sporadic use of Spanish and English for public affairs, but no state is considered officially bilingual. One Texas city, El Cenizo, adopted Spanish as its official language in 2006.
"With growing ethnic and racial diversity, we see more cases of people making suggestions about what should be the language of their local government," said Nestor Rodriguez, a sociology professor at the University of Texas at Austin. "These issues are always emotional and very symbolic. It's about who we are as people and who we are as a country."
Florida itself is an interesting case study: Miami-Dade County declared itself bilingual 40 years ago after a wave of Cuban exiles fled island and settled in South Florida. That ordinance was later overturned, but the rejection was thrown out in 1993. The state voted to make English the official language in 1988.
In Doral, nearly 80 percent of the population is Hispanic and almost 90 percent speak a language other than English at home. The city is affectionately known as "Doralzuela" because of its large number of Venezuelan residents.
Doral Mayor Luigi Boria, elected earlier this year, is a Venezuelan immigrant whose first language was Italian. He is an elegant, graying man who owns a successful computer technology business and speaks a halting English. He says he is still learning the language.
"Bueno, I think we have more than 80 percent of the population that already speak English and Spanish," he said in a telephone interview before Wednesday's vote. "I think what I'm doing is formalizing or regulating something that is already taking place."
He shared his own immigration story in introducing the resolution.
"It reminds me 23 years ago when I came to this country and I barely speak English and I made my way up," he told the audience of about 50 residents.
The resolution was largely symbolic; English would have remained the main language. But Boria argued that adopting Spanish as an official second language would help attract more business from Latin America and in turn create jobs. He noted Spanish has been used in Florida since St. Augustine was founded in 1565 ? 40 years before Jamestown, Va., the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.
"In Spanish, 'San Agustin,'" he said, pronouncing the city's name in Spanish.
The four city councilmembers, all Hispanic women whose families are from Mexico or Cuba, said they appreciated the spirit of the resolution but did not see its use. They highlighted the sizable number of Asian and Portuguese-speaking Brazilian immigrants in Doral as well.
Members of the audience who showed up to speak during public comments were almost equally divided between support and opposition.
"I learned the language, English," said Jaime Topp, a Cuban immigrant said. "That is the language of the United States."
He added that his wife, who doesn't speak Spanish, sometimes has trouble in Doral.
"There's times where she can't communicate," he said. "It's not right."
Ana Paola Cano, 30, who recently emigrated from Colombia, said she liked the resolution. She speaks English but felt more comfortable talking in Spanish, so the city clerk provided a translation ? as she did at several points in the meeting, highlighting the need for dual language services.
"It doesn't mean I don't believe we all need to learn English," she said. "It's a nice welcome to those of us who are recently arrived."
The measure was tabled but may be modified and brought before the council again at its next meeting.
"OK, if there's no support," Boria said, provoking laughter from the audience.
On Thursday, he vowed to continue working on the measure.
"I still believe it's good for the city," he said. "It will bring more business and investment and that will create more jobs in the city. At the end of the day English will always be the first official language."
_
Follow Christine Armario on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/cearmario
Filipino congressman and boxer Manny Pacquiao, the evening's guest host, poses at the North American premiere of the Filipino film "The Road" at the Arclight Hollywood Theater in Los ...
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South Korean protesters burn an effigy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during an anti-North Korea rally to denounce North Korea's nuclear test in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. A day after North Korea defied U.N. warnings with a nuclear test, Pyongyang?s neighbors turned Wednesday to the business of bolstering their military preparations and sending out scientists to determine whether the detonation was as successful as the North claimed. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korean protesters burn an effigy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during an anti-North Korea rally to denounce North Korea's nuclear test in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. A day after North Korea defied U.N. warnings with a nuclear test, Pyongyang?s neighbors turned Wednesday to the business of bolstering their military preparations and sending out scientists to determine whether the detonation was as successful as the North claimed. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A man looks through the wire fence covered with ribbons carrying messages of people's wish for the reunification of the two Koreas at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Defying U.N. warnings, North Korea on Tuesday conducted its third nuclear test in the remote, snowy northeast, taking a crucial step toward its goal of building a bomb small enough to be fitted on a missile capable of striking the United States. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
South Korean army soldiers patrol by the national flags and ribbons, wishing for the reunification of the two Koreas, attached on the barbed-wire fence at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Defying U.N. warnings, North Korea on Tuesday conducted its third nuclear test in the remote, snowy northeast, taking a crucial step toward its goal of building a bomb small enough to be fitted on a missile capable of striking the United States. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A South Korean protester shouts slogans near an effigy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during an anti-North Korea rally to denounce North Korea's nuclear test in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. A day after North Korea defied U.N. warnings with a nuclear test, Pyongyang?s neighbors turned Wednesday to the business of bolstering their military preparations and sending out scientists to determine whether the detonation was as successful as the North claimed.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
South Korean army soldiers patrol along barbed-wire fences at the Imjingak Pavilion, near the demilitarized zone of Panmunjom, in Paju, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. South Korea is confirming that North Korea has tested a nuclear device in defiance of U.N. orders to stop building atomic weapons. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? North Korea's neighbors bolstered their military preparations and mobilized scientists Wednesday to determine whether Pyongyang's third nuclear test, conducted in defiance of U.N. warnings, was as successful as the North claimed.
The detonation was also the focus of global diplomatic maneuvers, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reaching out to counterparts in Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo. President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address to assure U.S. allies in the region and warn of "firm action."
"Provocations of the sort we saw last night will only isolate them further as we stand by our allies, strengthen our own missile defense and lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats," Obama said.
The nuclear device detonated Tuesday at a remote underground site in the northeast is seen as a crucial step toward North Korea's goal of building a bomb small enough to be fitted on a missile capable of striking the United States.
North Korea said it tested a "smaller and light A-bomb, unlike the previous ones, yet with great explosive power." Still, just what happened in the test was unclear to outsiders.
Intelligence officials and analysts in Seoul raised the possibility of another nuclear test and of ballistic missile test-launches. North Korea's Foreign Ministry said the latest test was merely its "first response" to what it called U.S. threats and that Pyongyang will continue with unspecified "second and third measures of greater intensity" if Washington maintains its hostility.
South Korea has raised its military readiness alert level, and on Wednesday it used aircraft and ships, as well as specialists on the ground, to collect air samples to analyze possibly increased radiation from the test, according to the Defense Ministry. Japanese fighter jets were dispatched immediately after the test to collect atmospheric samples. Japan has also established monitoring posts, including one on its northwest coast, to collect similar data.
Underground nuclear tests often release radioactive elements into the atmosphere that can be analyzed to determine key details about the blast. One of the main points that intelligence officials want to know is whether the device was a plutonium bomb or one that used highly enriched uranium, which would be a first for North Korea.
In 2006 and 2009, North Korea is believed to have tested devices made of plutonium. But in 2010, Pyongyang revealed it was trying to enrich uranium, which would be a second source of nuclear bomb-making materials ? a worrying development for the United States and its allies.
Generally, it takes about two days for such radioactive byproducts from the North's test site to reach South Korea, Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said Wednesday.
South Korea also said Wednesday it has deployed cruise missiles with "world-class accuracy and destructive power" that are capable of hitting any target in North Korea at any time, and is speeding up the planned deployment of ballistic missiles.
Kim said Seoul believes North Korea made test preparations at two underground tunnels and may still be able to conduct another atomic test in the second unused tunnel.
In an emergency session, the U.N. Security Council unanimously said the test poses "a clear threat to international peace and security" and pledged further action.
It remains to be seen, however, whether China will sign on to any new, binding global sanctions. Beijing, Pyongyang's primary trading partner, has resisted measures that would cut off North Korea's economy completely.
The test was a defiant North Korean response to U.N. orders that it shut down its atomic activity or face more sanctions and international isolation. It will likely draw more sanctions from the United States and other countries at a time when North Korea is trying to rebuild its moribund economy and expand its engagement with the outside world.
The test "was neither a surprise nor an occasion for panic," said Robert Hathaway, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Asia program. "Nonetheless, this latest provocation clearly constitutes a serious challenge to U.S. and international efforts to block the North from acquiring a nuclear weapons arsenal."
Tuesday's test was North Korea's first since young leader Kim Jong Un took power over a country long estranged from the West. The test will likely be portrayed in North Korea as a strong move to defend the nation against foreign aggression, particularly from the U.S.
The U.N. Security Council recently punished North Korea for a rocket launch in December that the U.N. and Washington called a cover for a banned long-range missile test. Pyongyang said it was a peaceful launch of a satellite into space. In condemning that launch, the council demanded a stop to future launches and ordered North Korea to respect a ban on nuclear activity or face "significant action" by the U.N.
It wasn't immediately clear to outside experts whether the device exploded Tuesday was small enough to fit on a missile. A successful test would take North Korean scientists a step closer to building a nuclear warhead that could reach U.S. shores ? seen as the ultimate goal of North Korea's nuclear program.
Uranium would be a worry because plutonium facilities are large and produce detectable radiation, making them easier for outsiders to find and monitor. However, uranium centrifuges can be hidden from satellites, drones and nuclear inspectors in caves, tunnels and other hard-to-reach places. Highly enriched uranium also is easier than plutonium to engineer into a weapon.
"North Korea will want to send a message that its nuclear and missile issues cannot be resolved with sanctions and that high-level talks with the U.S. are necessary," said Cheong Seong-chang, an analyst at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea, referring to the possibility of another nuclear or missile test.
Despite tensions, he predicted U.S.-North Korea diplomatic talks could occur later this year.
"The biggest U.S. concern is whether the North has made progress in its uranium enrichment program. It's a matter of nuclear proliferation. To resolve this, the U.S. cannot help but talk with North Korea," he said.
___
Associated Press writers Sam Kim in Seoul, South Korea, Eric Talmadge in Tokyo and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Contact: Phyllis Fisher phyllis.fisher@gmail.com 212-606-1724 Hospital for Special Surgery
A study by researchers from Hospital for Special Surgery has shown that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) holds great promise for treating patients with knee osteoarthritis. The treatment improved pain and function, and in up to 73% of patients, appeared to delay the progression of osteoarthritis, which is a progressive disease. The study appears online, ahead of print, in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine.
"This is a very positive study," said Brian Halpern, M.D., chief of the Primary Care Sports Medicine Service at Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, and lead author of the study.
Several treatments for osteoarthritis exist, including exercise, weight control, bracing, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, Tylenol, cortisone shots and viscosupplementation, a procedure that involves injecting a gel-like substance into the knee to supplement the natural lubricant in the joint. A new treatment that is being studied by a small number of doctors is PRP injections. PRP, which is produced from a patient's own blood, delivers a high concentration of growth factors to arthritic cartilage that can potentially enhance healing.
"You take a person's blood, you spin it down, you concentrate the platelets, and you inject a person's knee with their own platelets in a concentrated form," said Dr. Halpern. "This then activates growth factors and stem cells to help repair the tissue, if possible, calm osteoarthritic symptoms and decrease inflammation."
In the new study, researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery enrolled patients with early osteoarthritis, gave them each an injection of PRP (6-mL), and then monitored them for one year. Fifteen patients underwent clinical assessments at baseline, one week, and one, three, six, and 12 months. At these time points, clinicians used validated tools to assess overall knee pain, stiffness and function, as well as a patient's ability to perform various activities of daily living. At baseline and then one year after the PRP injection, physicians also evaluated the knee cartilage with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), something that has not previously been done by researchers in other PRP studies. The radiologists reading the MRIs did not know whether the examination was performed before or after the PRP treatment.
"The problem with a lot of the PRP studies is that most people have just used subjective outcome instruments, such as pain and function scores," said Hollis Potter, M.D., chief of the Division of Magnetic Resonance Imaging at Hospital for Special Surgery, another author of the study. "But even when patients are blinded, they know there has been some treatment, so there is often some bias interjected into those types of studies. When you add MRI assessment, it shows you the status of the disease at that time, regardless of whether the patient is symptomatic or asymptomatic or they have good or poor function in the knee. You find out what the cartilage actually looks like. We can noninvasively assess the matrix or the building blocks of cartilage."
While previous studies have shown that patients with osteoarthritis can lose roughly five percent of knee cartilage per year, the HSS investigators found that a large majority of patients in their study had no further cartilage loss. "The knee can be divided into three compartments, the medial compartment, the lateral compartment and the patellofemoral compartment," said Dr. Halpern. "If we look at these compartments individually, which we did, in at least 73% of these cases, there was no progression of arthritis per compartment at one year. That is very significant, because longitudinal studies suggest a four to six percent progression of arthritis at one year."
Treatment with PRP was also useful in improving pain, stiffness and function. The investigators found that pain, measured by a standard test called the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index, significantly improved with a reduction of 41.7% at six months and 55.9% at one year. On a pain scale commonly used by clinicians called the Visual Analog Scale, pain was reduced by 56.2% at six months and 58.9% at one year. Functional scores improved by 24.3% at one year. Activity of Daily Living Scores also showed a significant increase at both six months (46.8%) and one year (55.7%).
"We are entering into an era of biologic treatment, which is incredibly ideal, where you can use your own cells to try to help repair your other cells, rather than using a substance that is artificial," Dr. Halpern said. "The downside is next to zero and the upside is huge." Dr. Halpern pointed out, however, that the study is a small case series and PRP needs to be pitted against a traditionally treated group in a randomized, controlled trial.
###
Osteoarthritis, which causes pain and joint stiffness, impacts over 27 million Americans and is a leading cause of disability. According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overall osteoarthritis affects 13.9% of adults aged 25 and older and 33.6% of those older than 65. The disease is characterized by degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint as well as bony overgrowth. Disease onset is gradual and usually begins after the age of 40.
Other HSS investigators involved in the study include Salma Chaudhury, M.D., Ph.D, Scott Rodeo, M.D., Catherine Hayter, MBBS, Eric Bogner, M.D., and Joseph Nguyen, MPH.
About Hospital for Special Surgery
Founded in 1863, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is a world leader in orthopedics, rheumatology and rehabilitation. HSS is nationally ranked No. 1 in orthopedics, No. 3 in rheumatology, No. 10 in neurology and No. 5 in geriatrics by U.S. News & World Report (2012-13), and is the first hospital in New York State to receive Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Service from the American Nurses Credentialing Center three consecutive times. HSS has one of the lowest infection rates in the country. From 2007 to 2011, HSS has been a recipient of the HealthGrades Joint Replacement Excellence Award. HSS is a member of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and an affiliate of Weill Cornell Medical College and as such all Hospital for Special Surgery medical staff are faculty of Weill Cornell. The hospital's research division is internationally recognized as a leader in the investigation of musculoskeletal and autoimmune diseases. Hospital for Special Surgery is located in New York City and online at www.hss.edu.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Phyllis Fisher phyllis.fisher@gmail.com 212-606-1724 Hospital for Special Surgery
A study by researchers from Hospital for Special Surgery has shown that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) holds great promise for treating patients with knee osteoarthritis. The treatment improved pain and function, and in up to 73% of patients, appeared to delay the progression of osteoarthritis, which is a progressive disease. The study appears online, ahead of print, in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine.
"This is a very positive study," said Brian Halpern, M.D., chief of the Primary Care Sports Medicine Service at Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, and lead author of the study.
Several treatments for osteoarthritis exist, including exercise, weight control, bracing, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, Tylenol, cortisone shots and viscosupplementation, a procedure that involves injecting a gel-like substance into the knee to supplement the natural lubricant in the joint. A new treatment that is being studied by a small number of doctors is PRP injections. PRP, which is produced from a patient's own blood, delivers a high concentration of growth factors to arthritic cartilage that can potentially enhance healing.
"You take a person's blood, you spin it down, you concentrate the platelets, and you inject a person's knee with their own platelets in a concentrated form," said Dr. Halpern. "This then activates growth factors and stem cells to help repair the tissue, if possible, calm osteoarthritic symptoms and decrease inflammation."
In the new study, researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery enrolled patients with early osteoarthritis, gave them each an injection of PRP (6-mL), and then monitored them for one year. Fifteen patients underwent clinical assessments at baseline, one week, and one, three, six, and 12 months. At these time points, clinicians used validated tools to assess overall knee pain, stiffness and function, as well as a patient's ability to perform various activities of daily living. At baseline and then one year after the PRP injection, physicians also evaluated the knee cartilage with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), something that has not previously been done by researchers in other PRP studies. The radiologists reading the MRIs did not know whether the examination was performed before or after the PRP treatment.
"The problem with a lot of the PRP studies is that most people have just used subjective outcome instruments, such as pain and function scores," said Hollis Potter, M.D., chief of the Division of Magnetic Resonance Imaging at Hospital for Special Surgery, another author of the study. "But even when patients are blinded, they know there has been some treatment, so there is often some bias interjected into those types of studies. When you add MRI assessment, it shows you the status of the disease at that time, regardless of whether the patient is symptomatic or asymptomatic or they have good or poor function in the knee. You find out what the cartilage actually looks like. We can noninvasively assess the matrix or the building blocks of cartilage."
While previous studies have shown that patients with osteoarthritis can lose roughly five percent of knee cartilage per year, the HSS investigators found that a large majority of patients in their study had no further cartilage loss. "The knee can be divided into three compartments, the medial compartment, the lateral compartment and the patellofemoral compartment," said Dr. Halpern. "If we look at these compartments individually, which we did, in at least 73% of these cases, there was no progression of arthritis per compartment at one year. That is very significant, because longitudinal studies suggest a four to six percent progression of arthritis at one year."
Treatment with PRP was also useful in improving pain, stiffness and function. The investigators found that pain, measured by a standard test called the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index, significantly improved with a reduction of 41.7% at six months and 55.9% at one year. On a pain scale commonly used by clinicians called the Visual Analog Scale, pain was reduced by 56.2% at six months and 58.9% at one year. Functional scores improved by 24.3% at one year. Activity of Daily Living Scores also showed a significant increase at both six months (46.8%) and one year (55.7%).
"We are entering into an era of biologic treatment, which is incredibly ideal, where you can use your own cells to try to help repair your other cells, rather than using a substance that is artificial," Dr. Halpern said. "The downside is next to zero and the upside is huge." Dr. Halpern pointed out, however, that the study is a small case series and PRP needs to be pitted against a traditionally treated group in a randomized, controlled trial.
###
Osteoarthritis, which causes pain and joint stiffness, impacts over 27 million Americans and is a leading cause of disability. According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overall osteoarthritis affects 13.9% of adults aged 25 and older and 33.6% of those older than 65. The disease is characterized by degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint as well as bony overgrowth. Disease onset is gradual and usually begins after the age of 40.
Other HSS investigators involved in the study include Salma Chaudhury, M.D., Ph.D, Scott Rodeo, M.D., Catherine Hayter, MBBS, Eric Bogner, M.D., and Joseph Nguyen, MPH.
About Hospital for Special Surgery
Founded in 1863, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is a world leader in orthopedics, rheumatology and rehabilitation. HSS is nationally ranked No. 1 in orthopedics, No. 3 in rheumatology, No. 10 in neurology and No. 5 in geriatrics by U.S. News & World Report (2012-13), and is the first hospital in New York State to receive Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Service from the American Nurses Credentialing Center three consecutive times. HSS has one of the lowest infection rates in the country. From 2007 to 2011, HSS has been a recipient of the HealthGrades Joint Replacement Excellence Award. HSS is a member of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and an affiliate of Weill Cornell Medical College and as such all Hospital for Special Surgery medical staff are faculty of Weill Cornell. The hospital's research division is internationally recognized as a leader in the investigation of musculoskeletal and autoimmune diseases. Hospital for Special Surgery is located in New York City and online at www.hss.edu.
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After years of long, sometimes tense negotiations, federal regulators today approved new rules for devices, known as boosters, that improve cellphone signals.
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Public release date: 12-Feb-2013
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